doing strange things with electricity
Diego Stocco Music Sound Designer
Jun 21st

Diego Stocco does things I dream of doing. Like recording himself playing a burning piano for a movie soundtrack and inventing weird hybrid musical instruments. Well, I do those kinds of things anyway but…
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/06/gallery-strange-instruments/
Strange thing having to do with electricity
May 26th

So I was about to do a massive post on concrete, which is actually more interesting (and tedious) than one would imagine (http://matse1.mse.uiuc.edu/concrete/prin.html) , when it dawned on me that it had nothing to do with electricity. Enter the unpronounceable Icelandic volcano to save the day:http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100526/sc_livescience/icelandvolcanoashplumeelectrified
Inspiration
Apr 22nd

Sometimes one needs inspiration; a new way of looking at old things.
Presenting the Museum of Unintended Use:
I Like Yike
Mar 26th

Get a velocipede. Electrify it and make it collapsible. This is why I like engineering.
http://www.yikebike.com/site/gallery/video/yikebike-discovery-channel
Educational Robot Runs on Java
Mar 25th
I received a postcard advertisement the other day for the IntelliBrain-Bot from Ridgesoft (www.ridgesoft.com). It’s a Java Programmable Educational Robot with 21 sensor ports for use in a variety of projects. It’s compatible with Bluetooth, it washes your dishes & irons your shirts… well, not right out of the box but maybe you could program it to do that. If you do, could you send it to my house when you’re finished? My shirts could use some ironing.
Thanks For The Memristors
Mar 17th
Neurons
I’m psyched! My dream of going to Fry’s to get parts for my brain may become a reality. OK, so I tend to take things too far but this is certainly interesting to my addled brain. I’m curious to see what happens with this technology aside from my own neurohacking. Now see here:
Dorkbot 23 – Thanks to all
Mar 14th
Thanks to all of you who attended Dorkbot 23 @ SXSWi this year. We had a great turnout and some fantastic presentations. ArcAttack performed again this year, showing some feats of amazement with their Singing Tesla Coils. You can catch some of the presentation here. (Thanks to austin360.com for the video!)
Thank you to our sponsors! Without them, our annual SXSW Dorkbot events wouldn’t be possible!
- SXSW Interactive
- Silicon Labs
- Mr. Data Consulting
- QRANK by Ricochet Labs
Special thanks to @bluedeerdesign for this photo.
OK Go: New video includes Rube Goldberg machine from Syyn Labs
Mar 4th
OK Go – This Too Shall Pass – RGM version
If you are not one of the 2,625,758 people (at the time of this writing) who have watched this video from the band OK Go, then you really should check it out. It’s a fantastic Rube Goldberg machine, all filmed in a single take for their song, “This Too Shall Pass” off of the album, “Of the Blue Colour of the Sky”. Here’s what their YouTube channel had to say about it:
The video was filmed in a two story warehouse, in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. The “machine” was designed and built by the band, along with members of Syyn Labs ( http://syynlabs.com/ ) over the course of several months.
Update: Make Magazine posted an opportunity for you to interview the makers of this video, Syyn Labs, in the comments on this post. So go ahead and start questioning.
Austin Hacker Space Opening Soon!
Feb 26th
Austin Hacker Space is opening soon and will be at Dorkbot 23 on 3/13 in Brush Square Park to tell you all about it. In the meantime, check out their website/wiki at http://austinhackerspace.org/ for more information. Seems like a great space for creative collaboration.
Here’s what Austin Hacker Space has to say about their objectives:
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Create an open community of hackers, artists, and open source/hardware enthusiasts to create, share, learn, and collaborate
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Help spread knowledge to the larger community, especially in the areas of: technology, DIY, and security
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Provide a space for creating, collaborations, workshops, and classes
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Provide resources (hardware, tools, materials, access, knowledge) to members and the community
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Assist other groups that share similar objectives
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Seek to enable others, and others’ projects; to help break down barriers; and to avoid erecting barriers
Look for a Nerd Movie Night at their place coming up on March 4, and hopefully another Dorkbot after SxSW! Also, there’s a Group Build-Out scheduled every Saturday from 10am – 5pm till they’re ready to open, if you’d like to volunteer some time, check out their space & help out for a bit. Austin Hacker Space is located at 209 E Ben White Blvd, #106 – enDesign.
Dorkbot 23 – SXSW Interactive 2010
Feb 24th
Saturday March 13, 2010
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Brush Square Park 5th and Neches Austin, Texas
RSVP BEFORE FRIDAY MAR 12th, 11:59PM
You must RSVP if you’re not a SXSW-interactive badge holder!
RSVPs through facebook will be registered to win giveaways from Make magazine!
Co-Sponsored by:
- SXSW Interactive
- Silicon Labs
- Mr. Data Consulting
- QRANK by Ricochet Labs
We’re still in need of at least one more sponsor to help cover rental costs. If you’d like to help out and have your name attached to one of the visible and popular SXSW-interactive events, please let us know!
Current presenters include:
- Waterloo Labs – Mind controlled gaming devices, iPod controlled vehicles, and more
- John Boiles and Gabriel Handford – iPhone controlled devices and the yelp light
6:20 – 6:40
- ArcAttack – Singing Tesla Coils
6:40 – 7:10
- Handmade Music Austin with Dr Bleep and Eric Archer
- Mikal Hart – Reverse Geocache box
- Bre Pettis – Maker, hacker, inventor, and founder of Makerbot
7:10 – 7:30
- ArcAttack – Singing Tesla Coils
7:30 – 8:00
- Bodytronix – Eric Archer and Erich Ragsdale play live electro with handmade synthesizers and drum machines




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